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ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
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PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS IN GUERRILLA WARFARE
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PREFACE
Guerrilla varfare is essentially a political war. For this reason, its
i area of operations goes beyond the territorial limits of conventional warfare,
aninal? defined by Ariatoteles.
a politica) war. and vieved ao the nilitary target of querriila warfare, the
constant struggle to doninate that area of the political mentality which {3
tne minds of the population, the entire population: Our troops, the enemy
troops, and the eivit population,
Welcom
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I Intropuction
1. General Background
The ain of this book is to introduce the guerrilla student to
psychological operation techniques, which will have an immediate and practical
value in guerrilla warfare. ‘this section is introductory ané general in
nature; the following sections will cover every point mentioned here in more
detail.
Yhe nature of the environment in guerrilla warfare does not allow
sophisticated psychological operations, and it becomes necessary for the
group, detachment and squadron leaders to carry out, with minimum direction
from the upper echelons, psychological action operations with the contacts who
know the reality from the roots.
2. Propagandist Combatant Guerrillas
In order to obtain the naximum results from psychological operations in
guerrilla warfare, each combatant must be highly motivated to engage in
Propaganda face to face, to the same degree that he is motivated to Fight.
‘This means that the guerrilla's individual political awareness, the reason for
his struggle, must be as acute as his capacity to fight.
Such a degree of political awareness and motivation is obtained through.
group dynamics and self-criticism as a standard teaching method for guerrilla
training and operations. Group discussions increase the spirit and the unity
of thought of the guerrilla squadrons, and they exert social pressure on the
weaker members to perform a better role in future training or in combat
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actions. Self-criticisn is made in terms of one's own contribution or
failures in one's contribution to the cause, the movement, the struggle, etc.,
and this introduces an element of positive individual commitment to the
mission of the group.
The desired result is a guerrilla soldier who may justify bis actions
persuasively when he is in contact with any member of the Nicaraguan People,
ang especially to hinself and his guerrilla companions when enduring the
vicissitudes of guerrilla warfare. This means that each guerrilla will be
Persuasive in face-to-face communication-~propagandist, combatant--in his
contact with the people; he must be capable of giving 5 or 10 logijcal reasons
why, for example, a peasant must give him fabric, needle and threaé to mend
his clothes. When the guerrilla behaves this way, enemy propaganda will never
turn him into an eneny in the eyes of the population. It also neans that
hunger, cold, fatigue and insecurity will have a meaning, psychologically, in
the struggle for the cause, because of constant orientation.
3. Armed Propaganda
Armed propagande includes every action performed, and the good impression
which this armed force may give will result in the population having a
positive attitude towards those forces; it does not include forced
indoctrination. Armed propaganda improves the behavior of the population
towards its author, and it is not achieved by force.
This means that an armed guerrilla unit in a rural town will not give the
impression that its weapons are a force that they hold over the peasants, but
rather that they are the strength of the peasants against the repressive
Sandinista government. his is achieved through @ close identification with
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the population, as follows: hanging up the weapons and working alongside then
in their fields, in construction, harvesting the grain, fishing, etc.; giving
explanations to young men about basic weapons, for example, giving then an
unloaded weapon and allowing them to touch it, see it, etc., giving a basic
description of its operation; describing, with simple slogans, how the weapons
Will serve the people in winning their freedom; adopting the demands of the
people for hospitals and education, a reduction of taxes, etc.
The objective of all these actions is to create an identification of the
people with the weapons and with the guerrillas who carry them, so that the
population feels that those weapons are, indirectly, the weapons that will
protect them and help then in their struggle against an oppressive regime.
There is always implicit terror in weapons, since the people are internally
‘awaret that they could be used against them: however, as long as explicit
coercion can be avoided, we may achieve positive attitudes about the presence
of armed guerrillas in the midst of the population.
Armed Propaganda Teams
Armed Propaganda Teams [Equipos ée Propaganda Armada (EPA)] are
constituted through a careful selection of persuasive and highly motivated
guerrillas, moving within the population, motivating the people to support the
querrillas and resist the enemy. They combine a high degree of political
awareness and the guerrillas’ capacity for armed propaganda, towards a
planned, controlled and progranmed effort.
The careful selection of personnel, based on their persuasive powers in
informal discussions and on their combat capability, is more important than
the level of their education or than the training program. The Armed
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Propaganda Team's tactics must be carried out covertly, and they must be
parallel to the tactical efforts in guerrilla warfare. Knowledge of the
Psychology of the population is a primary necessity for the Armed Propaganda
Teams, but much more intelligence data will be obtained from an EPA program in
the area of operations.
5. Development and Control of "Front Organizations
The development and control of *front* organizations is carried out
through internal subjective (concealed) control, through group meetings of the
‘internal cadres," and by calculating the time needed for the combination of
these two elements to be applied to the rasses.
Established citizens--doctors, attorneys, businessmen, teachers,
etc.
will be recruited initially as "Social Crusadere in typically
"innocuous" movements in the area of operations. When their *involvement™
with the clandestine organization is revealed to then, this exerts
psychological pressure on them so that they can be used as "internal cadres*
in groups to which they already belong or groups which they could join.
Then, through a cradval and skillful process, they will receive
instruction in persuasion techniques for the control of target groups which
will support our democratic revolution, A system for the control of cells
isolates individuals from one another, and at the appropriate moment, their
influence is used to fuse the groups together into a united national front.
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Control of Meetings and Mass Assemblies
The control of mass meetings in support of guerrilla warfare is carried
out internally through a covert commando elenent, bodyguards, messengers,
shock troops (incident initiators), poster carriers (also used to give
signals), and slogan shouters, all under the control of the external commando
elenent.
When the cadres are placed in or recruited from organizations such as
labor unions, youth groups, agricultural organizations or professional
associations, they will begin to manipulate the groups* objectives. he
psychological apparatus of our movement, by means of these internal cadres,
Will prepare a mental attitude which, at the crucial moment, coulé becone
involved in a fury of justified violence.
This can be carried out through a small group of guerrillas infiltrated
within the masses, who will have the mission of agitating, giving the
impression that there are many of them and that they have great popular
support. Using the tactics of a force of 200 to 300 agitators, one can create
a demonstration in which 10,000 to 20,000 could take part.
7. Support from Contacts Who are Rooted in Reality
The support of local contacts who know reality down to its roots is
achieved through the exploitation of the social and political weaknesses of
the target society, with propagandist-conbatant guerrillas, armed propaganda,
armed propaganda teams, front organizations and mass meetings.
‘The propagandist-combatant guerrilla is the result of a constant progran
of indoctrination and motivation. They will have the mission of demonstrating
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to the people the greatness and the justice of our movement, to all
Nicaraguans and to the world. By identifying with our people, sympathy
towards our movement will increase, which will result in greater support from
the population towards the freedon commandos, taking away sympathy from the
regime in power.
Armed propaganda will extend this process of identification with the
Christian guerrillas, providing (an awareness of] conmon traits against the
Sandinista regine.
‘The Armed Propaganda Teams provide a stage-by-stage persuasive planning
program in all areas of the country. These teams are also the "eyes and ears*
of our movement.
‘The development ané control of front organizations in guerrilla warfare
will give our movenent the ability to create the effect of a ‘whip* within the
population, when the order to merge is given. When infiltration and
subjective internal control have developed parallel to other guerrilla
activities, one of our commanders will be able to literally shake down the
Sandinista structure and replace it.
The meetings and mass assemblies are the culmination of a broad base of
support among the population, ané they occur in the later phases of the
operation. his is the moment in which an overthrow may be achieved and our
revolution can cone out in the open, requiring the close collaboration of the
entite population of the country, and requiring contacts who are rooted in
reality.
Tactical effort in guerrilla warfare is directed at the enem
weaknesses, and toward destroying their military capability to resist, and
must go parallel with a psychological effort to weaken and destroy their
sociopolitical capability at the same time. In guerrilla warfare, more than
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in any other type of military effort, psychological activities must take place
simultaneously with military activities, in order to achieve the desired
objectives.
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IT PROPAGANDIS?-COMBATANT GUERILLA
General Background
The objective of this section is to familiarize the guerrilla with
psychological operation techniques, which maximizes the social psychological
effect of a guerrilla movement, turning the guerrilla into a propagandist, in
addition to a combatant. The nature of the guerrilla warfare environment does
not allow sophisticated facilities to conduct psychological operations; for
this reason, we must make use of each guerrilla's effective face-to-face
persvasion.
2. Political Awareness
‘The guerrilla's individual political awareness, the reason for his
struggle, shall be as important as his ability to fight. This motivation of
political awareness will be achieved by:
- Improving the guerrilla's combat potential by increasing his motivation te
fight.
- Recognizing the guerrilla as a vital link between the democratic guerrilla
and the support of the people, essential to the subsistence of both.
- Promoting the support of the population for the national insurgency
[movement] through the support of the local guerrillas, which provides a
psychological base in the population for [participation in] politics, after
the achievement of victory.
- Developing trust in the guerrillas and the population for the
reconstruction of the local and national government.
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- Promoting the value of guerrilla and popular participation in the civic
affairs of the insurrection and in the national prograns.
= Developing in each guerrilla the capability for face-to-face persuasion on
the local level, in order to gain the support of the population, which is a
key element for the success of the guerrilla warfare.
3. Group Dynamics
This political awareness and motivation is obtained using group dynamics
at the level of small units. The group discussion method and self-criticism
are general techniques for training and guerrilla operations.
Group discussions increase the [group] spirit and a unity of thought in
small guerrilla groups, and exerts social pressure on the weaker menbers, so
that they may better carry out their mission in future training and combat
action. ‘These group discussions will place particular emphasis on:
= Creating an opinion favorable to our movement. Using the national ané
local history, making it understood that the Sandinista regime is *foreig
pressive" and "imperialistic," and although there are sone Nicaraguans
within the government, we will make it evident that they are power “puppets*
of the Soviets and the Cubans, that is, foreign powers.
- Always a local approach. Matters of an international nature will be
explained only as support for local events in guerrilla warfare.
- Our goal is the unification of the nation. This means that the defeat of
the armed Sandinista forces is our priority. Our insurrectional movenent is a
pluralist political platform, from which we are determined to win liberty,
equality, a better economy with opportunities to work, a higher level of
living and a true democracy for all Nicaraguans without exception.
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= Providing each guerrilla with a clear understanding about the struggle for
national sovereignty against Soviet-Cuban imperialism. Discussion guides will
lead the guerrillas to see the injustices of the Sandinista system.
= pemonstrating to each guerrilla the need for good behavior in order to win
the support of the population. The discussion guides must convince the
t guerrillas that the attitude and opinion of the population is a determining
factor, because victory is impossible without popular support.
= Self-criticiem will take place in constructive terms that will contribute
to the mission of the movement, and that will provide the guerrillas with the
certainty that they have a constant and positive individual responsibility in
the group mission, The method for instruction shall be:
a) Divide the guerrilla force into squadrons for group discussions,
including command and support elements, as long as the tactical situation
allows it. ‘The integrity of the small units must be maintained when these
groups are designed.
b) Assign a political cadre in the guerrilla force to each group, to
guide the discussion. The squadron leader must help the cadre to promote the
study and the expression of thoughts. If there aren't enough political cadres
for each squadron or detachment, the leaders must guide the discussions, and
the available cadres must visit groups alternately.
¢) The cadre (or the leader) should guide the group discussion in order
to cover a number of points and reach a correct conclusion, ‘The guerrillas
must feel that they have made their own free decision. The cadre must act
like a tutor. The cadre or leader will not act like a lecturer, but rather
will help the menbers of the group to study and express their own opinions.
a) At the end of each discussion, the political cadre will make a
summary of the princip]al points, taking them to the correct conclusions.
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Any serious differences with the objectives of the movement must be noted by
the caére and reported to the commander of the forces. If necessary, a
meeting of the combined groups will be held, and the team of political cadres
will explain and clear up the misunderstanding.
e) Democratic conduct on the part of the political cadres: living,
eating and working with the guerrillas, and, if possible, fighting at their
side, sharing their living conditions. All of this will propitiate
understanding and a spirit of cooperation which will help in the discussion
and exchange of ideas.
£) Holding group discussions in towns, and in areas of operation with
civil populations, whenever possible, and not limiting them to the camps or
bases, This is done in order to emphasize the revolutionary nature of the
struggle and to demonstrate that the guerrillas identified with the objectives
of the people move within the population. The guerrilla is focused toward the
people, like the political cadre is toward the guerrilla, and they must live,
eat and work together in order to achieve unity of revolutionary thought.
‘The principles for the group discussions between guerrillas and political
cadres are:
= Organize discussion groups at the detachment or squadron level. A cadre
cannot be certain of comprehension and understanding of the concepts and
conclusions on the part of the guerrillas in large groups. In a group the
size of a l0-man squadron, judgment and control of the situation are greater.
This way, all the students will participate! in an exchange among them, the
political leader, the leader of the group, and also the political cadre.
Special attention will be given to the individual ability to discuss the
objectives of the insurrectional struggle. When a guerrilla expresses his
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opinion, he will be interested in hearing the opinions of others, ané this
will result in unity of thought.
= Conbine the different points of view and reach a connon judgnent or
conclusion. ‘This is the most difficult task for a political cadre in the
guerrilla, After the group discussions about the democratic objectives of the
novenent, the leader of the team of political cadres of the guerrilla force
must combine the conclusions of the individual groups into a general summary.
In a meeting with all the discussion groups, the cadre will provide the main
points, and the guerrillas will have the opportunity to clarify or modify
their viewpoints. in order to do thie, the conclusions will be summarized as
slogans, whenever possible.
- Honestly face the national ané local problens of our struggle. The
political cadres must always be prepared to discuss solutions to the problems
observed by the guerrillas. During the discussions, the guerrillas must be
guided by the following three principles:
-- Loyalty of thought.
+ Freedom of expression.
=- Concentration of thoughts towards the objectives of the democratic
struggle.
The result desired is that 2 guerrilla may persuasively justify all nis
actions whenever he is in contact with any member of the people, and
especially to himself and his fellow guerrillas, while enduring the
vicissitudes of guerrilla warfare.
= This means that each guerrilla will be able to conduct effective
face-to-face persuasion as a propagandist-combatant in his contact with the
people, to the point of being able to give 5 or 10 logical reasons why, for
example, a peasant should give him a piece of fabric, or needle and thread
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to mend his clothes. when a guerrilla behaves like this, no kind of enemy
propaganda will be able to make him a "terrorist" in the eyes of the people.
- hus, even the hunger, cold, fatigue and insecurity in the existence of a
guerrilla, will acquire meaning in the struggle for the cause, due to the
constant psychological orientation.
camp Procedures
camping gives greater motivation to guerrilla units, in addition to
reducing distractions and increasing the spirit of cooperation of the small
units, relating the physical environment with the psychological atmosphere.
The squadron leader will establish the regular procedure of the camp. Once
they have disposed of their knapsacks, the leader will choose the suitable
site for camping. He must select a site which overlooks the zone, providing
for two or three ways to escape. He will choose among his men and give them
responsibilities such as:
- Cleaning the camp area.
- Adequate drainage in case of rain. Also build trenches or holes for
shooting in case of emergency. Likewise he will builé the kitchen, which will
be built by making a few small ditches and placing three rocks on them; in
case the kitchen is built on a pedestal, it will be filled with clay and rocks.
- Build a wall for protection against the wind, the top and sides of which
Will be covered with branches and leaves of the same vegetation that is
present in the zone. This will serve as canovflage and protection from being
seen from the air or by enemy patrols in the surrounding areas.
= Build a latrine ané dig a hole where all wastes and trash will be buried;
these must be covered with earth when the camp is abandoned.
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- Once the camp has been established, we recommend the establishment of a
watch post at access points and at a reasonable distance, from where a cry of
alarm could be heard. At that same time, a password, which must be changed
every 24 hours, will be established, The commander must have previously
established an alternate meeting point, in case the camp has to be abandoned
suddenly, so that they can meet at this other previously established point.
he patrol must be warned that if they cannot come together at the established
point in a certain amount of time, they must have a third meeting point.
‘These procedures contribute to the guerrilla's motivation and improve the
spirit of cooperation within the unit. the danger, the insecurity, the
anxiety and the daily anxiety [entailed] in the life of a guerrilla establish
the need for tangible evidence of belonging in order [for the soldiers] to
retain their good spirits and morale.
In addition to gooé physical condition, the guerrilla must be in good
psychological condition. [vo achieve this,] we reconmend group discussions
and self-criticisn, which will greatly benefit the spirit and morale of the
guerrillas.
- Striking camp with the effort and cooperation of all strengthens their
esprit de corps. The guerrilla will then be inclined towards a unity of
thought in their democratic objectives.
5. Interaction with the People
To insure popular support, which is essential to the good development of
guerrilla warfare, the leaders must lead to positive interaction between
civilians and guerrillas, by the principle of “live, eat and work with the
people," and they should maintain control of this activity. In group
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@iscussions, the leaders and political cadres must emphasize a positive
identification with the people.
Talking about tactical military plans in discussions with civilians is not
recommended. The conmunist enemy must be identified as the number one eneny
of the people, and as a secondary threat against our guerrilla forces.
As long as there is an opportunity, we must choose groups of elements who
have a high degree of political awareness and high discipline in the work to
be performed, to be sent to populated areas in order to conduct the armed
Propaganda. ‘They must persuade people through dialogue in face-to-face
encounters, following these principles:
= Respect of human rights and respect of the other's property.
= Helping people in community work.
- Protecting people from communist aggression.
- Teaching environnental hygiene or reading to the people, etc., in order to
win their trust, which will result in a better ideological denocratic
preparation.
These activities will arouse the peasant's sympathy towards our movement,
and he will immediately become one of ours, through logistical support, cover
and intelligence information about the enemy, or participation in combat.
Guerrillas must be persuasive through the word, and not overbearing through
their weapons, When they behave this way, the people will feel that they are
respected, and will be more inclined to accept our message, thus consolidating
popular support.
Anyplace where tactical guerrilla operations are conducted in highly
populated areas, the squadron must also carry out parallel psychological
actions, which must precede, accompany and consolidate the common objective,
and give explanations to all people about our struggle, indicating that our
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presence means to give peace, liberty and democracy to all Nicaraguans without
exception, and explaining that our struggle is not against the nationals, but
rather against Russian imperialism. This will serve to assure greater
psychological achievements to augment the tactical operations of the future.
6. Conclusions
The nature of the guerrilla warfare environment does not permit
sophisticated facilities for psychological operations, and face-to-face
persuasion from the propagandist-combatant guerrillas towards the people is an
effective and available tool, which we must use as often as possible during
the process of the struggle.
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II] ARMED PROPAGANDA
General Background
There is frequently a misunderstanding about “armed propaganda," that this
tactic consists in prevailing over people with arms. In reality, it does not
involve force, but the guerrilla must be very knowledgeable in the principles
and methods of this tactic. The objective of this section is to give the
guerrilla student an understanding of the armed propaganda that must be used,
and which can be applied in guerrilla warfare.
2. Close Identification with the People
Armed propaganda includes all actions performed by an armed force, the
results of which will bring a better attitude fron the people towards that
force, not including forced indoctrination. ‘This is performed by a close
identification with the people at any opportunity. For example:
- Hanging up one's arms and working side by sie with the peasants in the
fiel
building, fishing, carrying water, fixing roofs, etc.
- When you work with people, the guerrillas can use slogans lik any
hands doing small things, but doing then together
- Participating in the people's work you can establish a strong bond between
them and the guerrillas, and at the same time, you generate popular support
for our movenent.
During patrols or other operations near or in the middle of towns, each
guerrilla must be respectful and polite with the people. Likewise, he must
move cautiously and always be ready to fight, if necessary. but he must not
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see everyone as an enemy, with suspicion or hostility. Even in war, it is
possible to smile, laugh and greet people. ‘ruly, the reason for our
revolutionary base, the reason why we fight, is our people. We must be
respectful towards them at all times.
In place and situations whenever it's possible, for example, while resting
during a march, the guerrillas can explain to youths and children how to
handle arms. ‘They can give them an unloaded rifle, so that they can learn to
assemble it and disassemble it, how to use it; and they can point to imaginary
targets, since they are potential recruits for our forces.
The guerrillas must always be ready with easy slogans, to explain to the
people, whether by chance or intentionally, the reason for using arms.
= ‘Arms will be used to win freedom, they are for you."
- ‘With arms we can set demands, such as hospitals, schools, better roads
and social services for the people, for you."
~ ‘Our arms are, truly, the arms of the people, your acns.*
- ‘With arms we can change the Sandinista-conmunist regime and return to the
people a true democracy, so that we all may have economic opportunities.*
All of this must be designed to create an identification of the people
with arne and with the guerrillas who carry them. Lastly, we must make the
people feel that we are thinking about then, and that the arms belong to the
people, to help them and to protect them from a conmunist, totalitarian,
imperialist regime, which is indifferent to the needs of the population.
3. Implicit and Explicit Terror
An armed guerrilla force always entails an implicit terror, because the
population, without saying it aloud, is afraid that the arms could be used
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against them. However, if the terror is not made to be explicit, positive
results can be expected.
In a revolution, the individual lives under a constant thread of physical
harm. If the government police cannot put a halt to guerrilla activities, the
population will lose confidence in the government, which has the inherent
mission of guaranteeing public safety, However, the guerrillas must be
careful not to become an explicit terror, because this would result in a loss
of public support.
In the words of a leader of the HUK guerrilla movement, in the Philippine
‘he population is always impressed by arms, but not because of the fear
present ourselves before the people, supporting them with our arms, and this
will give them the message of the struggle.
This is, in a few words, the essence of armed propaganda.
An armed guerrilla force may occupy an entire town or small city that is
neutral or relatively passive with regard to the conflict. In order to carry
out armed propaganda effectively, the following must be done simultaneous)
= Destroy military or police installations, and moving the survivors to a
i
| that they cause, but rather because they give a feeling of strength. We must
|
/
|
{
|
|
| .
| public place."
!
- Cut all external lines of communication:
cables, radio, messengers.
= Set up ambushes, in order to delay efforts on all possible access routes.
- Kidnap all Sandinista government officials and agents, and replacing them
in "public places by military or civil personnel trusted by our movemént; in
addition, do the following:
-- Establish a public court dependent on the guerrillas, and going through
the entire town or city, gathering the population together for this act.
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Shame, ridicule and humiliate the "personal symbols" of the repressive
government in the presence of the people, and promoting popular participation
by means of guerrillas placed within the crowd, yelling slogans and taunts.
Reduce the influence of individuals sympathetic to the regime, exposing
their weaknesses and removing them from the town, without damaging them
publicly.
Mix the guerrillas into the population, and have all members of the column
ql demonstrate very good conduct, practicing the following:
Any article taken will be paid for in cash.
‘The hospitality offered by the people will be accepted and this
opportunity will be exploited to carry out face-to-face persuasion regarding
the struggle.
-- Courtesy calls must be paid to prominent and prestigious citizens of the
place, such as doctors, priests, teachers, etc.
-- The guerrillas must instruct the population, so that when the operation is
| over and the repressive Sandinista forces interrogate them, they may reveal
EVERYTHING about the military operation carried out. For example, the kinds
of weapons used, how many men arrived, from what direction they arrived and in
what direction they left, in other words, EVERYTHING.
-- Likewise, indicate to the population that in meetings or in private
fi discussions, they may give the names of Sandinista informers, who will be
removed together with the other officials of the repressive government.
= When conducting a meeting, conclude it with a speech by one of the
guerrilla leaders or political cadres (the most dynamic one), including
explicit references to:
| - he fact that the ‘enemies of the people," the Sandinista officials or
|
agents, must not be mistreated in spite of the criminal actions, even though
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the querrilla forces may have suffered casualties, and that this is done
thanks to the generosity of the Christian guerrillas.
Give a statement of thanks for the *hospitality" of the population, as
well as let them know that the risks that they will run when the Sandinistas
return are greatly appreciated.
he fact that the Sandinista regime will not be able to resist the attacks
of our guerrilla forces, in spite of the fact that they exploit the people
with taxes, control of currency, grain, and all aspects of public life through
the associations, to which they are forced to belong.
Making a promise to the people that they will return to make sure that the
“eeches" of the repressive Sandinista regime will not be able to inpede the
integration of our guerrilla with the population.
<= A repeated statement to the population to the effect that they may reveal
everything about this visit by our commandos, because we are not afraid of
anything or anyone, or either the Soviets or the Cubans. Emphasize that we
are Nicaraguans, that we struggle for Nicaragua's freedom, and to establish a
wholly Nicaraguan government.
Guerrilla Arms are the Strength of the People
Against an Tilegal Government
Armed propaganda in populated areas does not give the impression that the
arms are the power of ‘the guerrillas over the people, but rather that the arms
are the strength of the people against a repressive regime. Whenever it is
necessary to use armed force during an occupation or a visit to a town or
village, "the guerrillas must emphasize and make sure during this action that
they:
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- Explain to the population that first of all this is being done to protect
them, the people, not the guerrillas themselves.
- Admit frankly and publicly that this is "an act of democratic guerrillas,"
with the appropriate explanations.
- - That this action, although not desirable, is necessary because the final
objective of the insurrection is a free and democratic society, where acts of
force are not necessary.
- The force of arms is a need provoked by the oppressive system, and will
cease to exist when the "forces of justice" of our movement assume control.
- If, for example, it became necessary for one of the advance posts to have
to shoot a citizen who was trying to leave the town or city in which the
guerrillas are carrying out armed propaganda or political proselytism, the
following is reconmended:
- Explain that if this citizen were able to escape, he would alert the eneny
near the town or city, and they would come in with reprisals such as rape,
pillage, destruction, captures, etc., terrorizing the inhabitants of the place
for having been attentive and hospitable to the guerrillas in the town.
- If 2 guerrilla shoots an individual, make the population see that he was
an enemy of the people, and that they shot him because the guerrillas
recognized their primordial duty, which is protecting the citizens.
= the commando tried to stop the informant without shooting, because he,
like all Christian guerrillas, advocate non-violence. Having shot the
Sandinista informer, although it is against his own will, was necessary to
avoid repression on the part of the Sandinista government against the innocent
people.
- Wake the population see that it was the regime's repressive system, which
caused this situation, that really killed the informant, and that the weapon
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fired was one that was recovered in combat against the Sandinista regime.
- Make the population see that if the Sandinista regime had ended its
repression, with the corruption sponsored by foreign powers, etc., the freedom
commandos would not have had to take up arms to cut down the lives of their
Nicaraguan brothers, which hurts our Christian feelings. If the informant had
not tried to escape, he would be enjoying life together with the rest of the
Population, because he would not have tried to inform to the enemy. ‘This
death would have been avoided if justice and freedom existed in Nicaragua, and
this is exactly the objective of the democratic guerrilla.
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Selective Use of Violence for Propaganda Effects
We could neutralize carefully selected and planned-for targets, such as
court judges, cattle judges [jueces de esta], police or state security
officers, CDS chiefs, etc. For purposes of the psychological effect, it is
necessary to take extreme precautions, and it is essential to gather the
affected population together to attend, take part in the act, and formulate
accusations against the oppressor.
tee ee ee
- The spontaneous hostility which the majority of the population may feel
against the target.
- Using potential rejection or hate on the part of the majority of the
affected population against the target, rousing the population and making them
see all of the individual's negative and hostile acts against the people.
= If the majority of the people supports or backs the target, don't try to
change these feelings through provocation.
= Relative difficulty of handling the person who will replace the target.
The person who will replace the target must be selected carefully, on the
basis of the following:
- Degree of violence necessary to effect the change.
- Degree of violence acceptable to the affected population.
Degree of violence possible without causing damage or danger to other
individuals in the area around the target.
= Poresceable degree of reprisals on the part of the enemy towards the
affected population or other individuals in the area around the target.
The mission of replacing the individual must be followed by:
- Extensive explanations to the affected population of why [this action]
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was necessary for the good of the people.
- Explaining that the Sandinista reprisals are unfair, indiscriminate, and
above all, a justification for the execution of this mission.
- Carefully sounding out the reaction of the people to the mission, as vell
as controlling this reaction by assuring that the population's reaction is
beneficial to the Freedom Commandos.
6. Conclusions
wy
Ce
Armed propaganda includes all actions performed and the impact achieved by
an arned force, resulting in positive attitudes on the part of the population
towards that force, not including forced indoctrination. However, armed
Propaganda is the most effective instrument available to a guerrilla force.
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IV. ARMED PROPAGANDA TEAMS
1. General
In contact with the very reality of their roots, in a campaign of
psychological operations in guerrilla warfare, the commanders will be able to
obtain maximum psychological results from a program of Armed Propaganda
Teams. The purpose of this section is to inform the student guerrilla of what
the Armed Propaganda Teams are in the milieu of guerrilla warfare.
2. Combination: Political Awareness and Armed Propaganda
‘The Armed Propaganda Teams combine political consciousness-raising with
armed propaganda, which will be conducted by carefully selected guerrillas
(preferably with combat experience), for personal persuasion within the
populagtion.
The selection of personnel is more important than the training, because we
cannot train guerrilla cadres solely to demonstrate the feelings of ardor and
fervor, which are essential since person-to-person persuasion is important.
However, it is even more important to train persons who are intellectually
cultivated and agile.
| An Armed Propaganda Team includes from 6 to 10 members. This number, or a
smaller number, is ideal, because then there is more camaraderie, solidarity,
) and esprit de corps. ‘The subjects discussed are assimilated more rapidly, an¢
the members react more rapidly to unexpected situations.
In addition to being a combined armed combatant and propagandist, each
member of the team must be well prepared to conduct constant person-to-person,
face-to-face communications.
The leader of the team will have to be the commando who is most highly
t motivated politically and most effective in face-to-face persuasion.
| Position, hierarchy, or rank will not be the determining factor for
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performing this function, but rather it will be performed by whoever is best
qualified for communication with the people.
The source of basic recruitment for guerrilla cadres will be the sane
social groups of Nicaraguans toward whom the psychological campaign is
Airected, such as peasants, students, professionals, housewives, ete. The
peasants must be made to see that they have no land; the workers, that the
state is closing down the factories and industries; the doctors, that they
are being displaced by Cuban paramedics, and that as doctors they cannot
exercise their profession because of lack of drug
A rewquirenent for
recruiting them will be their skill in expressing themselves in public.
‘The selection of personnel is more important than the training.
Individual consciousness-raising and capacity of persuasion in the discussions
of groups for motivation of the guerrilla as conbatant-propagandist, selecting
as cadres and organizing into teams those who have the greatest capacity for
this work.
The training of guerrillas for armed propaganda teams is focused on the
method, not on the content. A training of two weeks is sufficient if tshe
rescruitment is conducted in the form indicated. If a wrong selection process
has been followeé, the individual selected will not produce a very good
result, no matter how good the training provided.
The training will have to be intensive for 14 days, by means of
@iscussions within the team, alternating the position of discussion leader
among the member$ of the group.
The topics to be discussed will be the same; a different topic will be
introduced each day, for varied practice.
‘The topics will have to refer to the local conditions and to the
significance which they have for the residents of the locality, such as
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speaking about crops, fertilizers, seeds, irrigation, etc. The following
topice may also be include:
- Lumber, tiles, carpentry tools for houses and other buildings;
= Boats, launches, roads, horses, oxen for transportation, fishing, and
agriculture;
- Problems which they may have locally with neighbors, offices of the
regime, visitors, taxes, ete.;
- Forced labor, service in the militias;
= Porcea association in Sandinista groupings, such as women's clubs,
youth associations, workers associations, etc;
= Availability and prices of consumer goods and articles of prime
necessity in local grocery stores ané shops:
- characteristics of the education in public schools:
= Concern of the population about the presence of Cuban teachers in the
schools and political interference, that is, using the schools for political
purposes rather than for educational purposes, as they should be used;
= Indignation over the lack of freedom of religion and over the
persecution of which the priests are victim
and over the participation of
priests such as D'Bscoto and Cardenal in the Sandinista government, against
the explicit orders of Bis Holiness the Pope.
NOTE: Other topics may be developed by the members of the team.
The target groups for the Armed Propaganda Teams are not the persons with
sophisticated political knowledge but those whose opinions are formed from
what they see and hear. The cadres will have to use persuasion to carry out
their mission. Some of the methods of persuasion which may be used are the
followin
- Internal group/external group, It is a principle of psychology that we
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Techniques of Persuasion in Chats or Speeches
= Be simple and concise. Avoid the use of difficult words or
expressions. Prefer popular words and expressions, that is, the language of
the people. in dealing with a person, make use of concise language, avoiding
complicated verbiage. It should be recalled that we use oratory to make our
people understand the reason for our struggle and not to show our knowledge.
- Use vivid and realistic examples. Avoid abstract concepts, such as
those used in universities in the higher years; instead of then, give
concrete examples such as children playing, horses galloping, birds in flight,
ete.
- Use gestures to communicate. In addition to verbal communication, we
can conmanicate through gestures, such as moving our hands expressively,
movenents of the back, facial expressions, focusing our glance, and othi
aspects of "body language", projecting the individual personality in the
message.
- Use the appropriate tone of voice. If in addressing the people one
speaks about happiness, one will have to use a happy tone. If one speaks of
something sad, the tone of voice must be of sadness; in speaking of a heroic
act or act of valor, one will speak with an animated voice, etc.
~ Above all, be natural, One must avoid imitating others, since people,
especially simple people, can easily detect a charlatan. One will have to
project one's individual personality when addressing the population.
3, Eyes and "Ears* within the Population
The abundance of information for intelligence which the deployment of
Armed Propaganda Teams will generate will permit us to cover @ large area with
our commandos, who will become the eyes and ears of our movenent within the
population.
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- The combined reports of an Armed Propaganda Team program will provide
us with exact details on enemy activities.
- The intelligence information obtained by the Armed Propaganda Team
cadres will have to be reported to the chiefs. Nevertheless, it is necessary
to emphasize that the first mission of the Armed Propaganda Teams is to
conduct psychological operations, not to obtain intelligence information.
Any intelligence report will be made through external contact of the Arned
Propaganda Team, so as not to compromise the population.
‘The Armed Propaganda cadres are capable of doing what others cannot do
in a guerrilla campaign: determine personally the development or
deterioration of popular support, and the sympathy or hostility which the
people feel toward our novenent.
= The program of Armed Propaganda Teans, in addition to being very
effective psychologically, increases the capacity of the guerrilla group to
obtain and use the information.
- Likewise, the Armed Propaganda Cadre will report to his superior the
reaction of the people to the radio broadcasts, insurrectional leaflets, or
any other medium of our propaganda.
- The expressions or gestures of the eyes ané face, the tone and strength
of the voice, and the use of suitable words greatly influence face-to-face
Persuasion with the people.
With the intelligence reports supplied by the Armed Propaganda Teans, the
commanders will have exact knowledge of the popular support, which they will
use in their operations.
Psychological Tactics, Maximum Flexibility
Psychological tactics will have the maximum flexibility within a general
plan, permitting a continuous and immediate adjustment of the message, and
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making sure to create an impact on the indicated target group, at the monent
at which it is most susceptible.
Tactically, a program of Armed Propaganda Teans should cover the greater
part, and if possible all, of the operational territory. The communities in
which this propaganda will be conducted will not necessarily have to coincide
with political units of an official character. A complete understanding of
their structure or organization is not necessary, because the cadres will
operate by applying social-political action and not academic theory.
The target populations of the Armed Propaganda Teams will be selected
because they are part of the operational area, and not because of their size
or the extent of their territory.
- The objective will have to be the people, not the territorial area.
= .1n this respect, each work team will have to cover approximately six
population centers, for the purpose of developing popular support for our
novenent.
The team will always have to move in a covert manner within the population
centers of its area.
- It will have to vary its route radically, but not its itinerary. this
is so that the inhabitants who are cooperating may depend on its itinerary,
that is, on the time at which they may frequently contact it to give it
information.
- The danger of betrayal or ambush can be neutralized by varying the
itinerary slightly, using different routes, as well as by arriving or leaving
without advance notice.
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While the surprise factor is used, vigilance will have to be exercised in
order to detect the possible presence of hostile elements.
one should not stay more than three consecutive @ays in one populated
place.
‘The three-day limit has obvious tactical advantages, but it also creates a
psychological effect on the people when they see the team as a source of
current and up-to-date information. Also, it may overexpose the target
audience and cause a negative reaction.
Basic tactical precautions will have to be taken. ‘This is necessary for
greater effectiveness, as was indicated in the discussion of the topic of
‘armed Propaganda’. When it is conducted in a discreet manner, it increases
the respect of the population for the team and enhances its credibility.
The basic procedures are: covert elements who exercise vigilance before
and after the departure and at intervals, ‘There should be at least two of
them, and they should meet at a predetermined place at a signal or before any
hostile action.
‘Phe goal of the team is to motivate the entire population of a place, but
to remain constantly aware that specific target groups exist within this
general configuration of the public.
Although meetings are held in the populated place, the cadres will have to
recognize, and keep in contact with, the target groups, mingling with them
before, during, and after the mecting. The method of conducting this type of
meeting was included in the topic of "Armed Propaganda*, and it will be
covered in greater detail under the title of "Control of Mass Meetings and
Demonstrations’
‘The primary focus of the Armed Propaganda cadres will have to be on the
residents of the populated place, where their knowledge as shapers of
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